Many ostomates have a good long-term adjustment to ostomy surgery and value education provided by a wound, ostomy, and continence nurse. Perioperative patient education and addressing patient distress over obtaining supplies are areas that can benefit from wound, ostomy, and continence nurse intervention.
Perineal dermatitis, recently relabelled 'incontinence-associated dermatitis' (IAD), is an inflammation of the skin that occurs when urine and/or stool comes into contact with the skin. It can range in severity from erythema with or without loss of skin integrity to infection. IAD affects as many as 41% of adults in long-term care; it is costly, painful and, for the most part, preventable. An effective plan of care for individuals with IAD must include assessment and management of incontinence aetiology, perineal skin and risk assessment, gentle cleansing and moisturization, application of skin barriers and treatment of secondary infection, and the use of containment devices if indicated.
In this article, the author presents an overview of normal skin and a description of perineal skin injury. The focus is to identify the goals for treatment for persons with frequent diarrhea or fecal incontinence as it relates to their perineal skin care. Specific algorithms for acute care and ambulatory settings are defined, and two case studies are presented. The treatment goals include evaluation of and recommendations for reviewing and choosing perineal skin products.
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